By the stipulations of this instrument, we are despoiled of our private possessions, the indefeasible property of individuals. We are stripped of every attribute of freedom and eligibility for legal self-defence. Our property may be plundered before our eyes; violence may be committed on our persons; even our lives may be taken away, and there is none to regard our complaints. We are denationalized; we are disfranchised. We are deprived of membership in the human family! We have neither land nor home, nor resting place that can be called our own. And this is affected by the provisions of a compact which assumes the venerated, the sacred appellation of treaty. –Chief John Ross, 1836 Which statement best summarizes John Ross’s response to the Treaty of New Echota and American Indian removal? He believes that the Cherokee should be able to defend themselves against white people. He feels the Cherokee are being treated as less than human, with no regard for their human or legal rights. He considers the treaty to be sacred, but is saddened by the loss of land.